Over the years, Larry "Big Al" Jordan has experimented with a number of moneymaking schemes. He has peddled everything from cocaine to chocolate chip cookies, human hair to hiking boots.
But none of his ventures -- or misadventures -- has generated the kind of cash flow and acclaim he now enjoys from the simple sale of T-shirts featuring the name of the neighborhood where he grew up: Watts.
"People here want to feel proud about where they live, and that is what we try to do," said Jordan, 44, a size 7 extra-large "Wattslife" T-shirt covering much of his 6-foot-3, 340-pound frame.
Jordan was one of a handful of street merchants who set up shop in Watts hawking "I Survived the Riots" T-shirts shortly after the city began burning in the spring of 1992. Today, he is nurturing -- through his Wattslife Souvenirs store -- an even greater market in Watts-labeled products, selling them locally, outside the neighborhood and outside the country.
On any given day, in addition to locals and former locals, foreign tourists show up at his shop at Wilmington Avenue and Imperial Highway, seeking clothes that feature the Wattslife name. Jordan recently began offering tours of the local Watts attractions. He installed clocks above the counter displaying the time of day in New York, Tokyo and Watts. And he posts photographs of his international clientele.
"It's strange. People from the Westside are afraid to come to Watts, and I have people coming from all over the world," Jordan said.
On a recent Wednesday, almost as if on cue, Uji Ota, a Japanese tourist, strolled into the shop and bought more than $1,000 in T-shirts and hooded sweatshirts with the Wattslife logo.
Ota, who owns a shop in Nagano, Japan, is president of the One O Five car club in that city. "It's just like the Los Angeles freeway," he said, referring to the 105, a gold replica of his club emblem dangling from a chain around his neck.
He posed for pictures with Jordan, and within 24 hours, Ota had photographs of his Watts shopping spree posted on the club's website: www.los105.com.
It was a routine Jordan is all too familiar with. "I give him credibility," Jordan said. "It's authentic merchandise made in Watts." It's also much less expensive, Ota said. A $15 T-shirt costs two to four times more in Japan.
The shirts join the flow of U.S. pop culture artifacts -- lowrider cars, Levis, used Nike Air Jordans, thrift store sweaters -- that the Japanese have been importing for decades.
